Folding tablet arm



Sept. 13, 1955 G. B. MORSE 2,717,632

FOLDING TABLET ARM Filed Oct. 9, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l p 1955 v G. B.MORSE 2,717,632

FOLDING TABLET ARM Filed Oct. 9, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /n ven/or p 3,1955 G. B. MORSE 2,717,632

FOLDING TABLET ARM Filed Oct. 9, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ji /3. h?

United States Patent FOLDING TABLET ARM Glenn B. Morse, Grand Rapids,Mich.

Application October 9, 1952, Serial No. 313,863

Claims. (Cl. 155-125) The present invention provides a folding supportfor a tablet arm mounted on a folding chair. The tablet arm and supportmay conveniently be mounted on a chair of the type shown and describedin the Burnham et al. Patent Number 2,568,269, but is not restricted touse in conjunction with primary chair structures having that particulartype of folding action.

A tablet arm of suificient size to be of much use as a writing surfaceor for supporting books or other items presents a very troublesomeproblem if an attempt is made to design a folding mechanism for it thatis directly tied into the folding movement of the basic chair mechanismso that both fold together. Attempts to produce a mechanism capable ofcollapsing both the tablet arm and the chair together have eitherresulted in such awkward folded positions or such expensive mechanism asto make either of these alternatives commercially impractical.

The present invention provides for the folding of a tablet arm supportas a substantially separate mechanical system; a part of it, however,being adapted to cooperate with the erected chair structure to establishthe erected position of the tablet arm. The tablet arm may be foldedwithout collapsing the chair, if desired.

The folding support for the tablet arm provided by the present inventionincludes a member hinged on parallel axes respectively to the side ofthe seat of the chair and to the work-supporting panel. Folding movementof this mechanism involves a rotation of the supporting member about itslower hinge point over into a position substantially parallel to theseat of the chair. This movement carries the tablet arm over into aposition superimposed on the seat of the chair.

When it is desired that the tablet arm be maintained in an erectedposition to provide a working or supporting surface, a coupling membersecured to the tablet arm is engaged by a portion of the primary chairstructure, preferably a part of a leg member. This engagement performstwo functions: (a) the prevention of the rotation of the hingedsupporting member, (b) the prevention of the rotation of the workingpanel about its hinged connection to the supporting member. As long asthe coupling member is engaged, the tablet arm is firmly anchored inposition. The simplest form of the present invention provides a fixedcoupling member requiring that the chair be displaced slightly fromfully erected position to disengage the coupling member from the leg. Amodified form of the invention, however, provides for a sliding mountingof the coupling member which will permit disengagement from the legwithout displacing the primary chair structure from the fully erectedposition. This latter feature will permit the use of relatively largetablet arms on chairs arranged in closely-packed rows. Under thesecircumstances, a large tablet arm would usually make it impossible for aperson to enter and leave a chair without interfering with his neighbor.Since it is possible to disengage and move the tablet arm to a positionwhere it does not obstruct egress from the chair, the size of the "icetablet arm may no longer be regarded as limited by the necessity ofhaving room to enter the chair from the front.

The several features of the present invention will be discussed throughan analysis of the particular embodiments illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. In these drawmgs:

Figure 1 presents a side elevation of an erected folding chair of thetype shown in the Burnham et al. application referred to above, and witha tablet arm constructed according to the present invention in the fullyerected position.

Figure 2 presents a front elevation of the upper portion of the chairshown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows the chair illustrated in Figure l, with the primary chairstructure displaced slightly from fully erected position to permitdisengagement of the tablet arm supporting mechanism for folding.

Figure 4 shows a view from the front of the upper portion of the chairwith the tablet arm and support in an intermediate position.

Figure 5 shows the mechanism illustrated in Figure 4 as it appears whenfully collapsed and superimposed upon the seat.

Figure 6 illustrates the folded relationship of the entire chairstructure, including the tablet arm.

Figure 7 shows a side elevation of a folding chair mechanism similar tothat shown in Figure 1, but provided with a modified form of thecoupling member.

Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the coupling member utilized in theFigure 7 mechanism.

Figure 9 shows a view of the chair illustrated in Figure 7 with thechair and tablet arm mechanism in the fully folded position.

Referring to Figures 1 through 6, the primary folding chair mechanism isshown including the front legs 10 and 11, the seat 12, the back panel13, and rear legs as indicated at 14 in Figure 1. The front and rearlegs are pivotally connected to the seat 12 as indicated at 15 and 16,respectively, in Figure 1. The upper end of the rear legs is connectedto the associated front leg with a link as indicated at 17 in Figure 3.This link is positioned within the hollow front leg with the chair inthe fully erected position, and moves outward through a slot at the rearof the front leg during the folding operation. The details of thismechainsm are shown and described in the Burnham et a1. patent referredto above.

A supporting panel 18 is mounted on a hinge 19 which is also secured tothe panel-supporting member 20. This member is mounted on hinges 21 and22 secured to the seat 12. Reference to Figure 4 will indicate thefolding movement of the tablet arm and the support member.

In order to maintain the panel 18 in the erected position shown inFigures 1 and 2, a coupling member 23 is mounted firmly on the panel 18and is adapted to engage the upper portion of the front leg 11 of theprimary chair structure. The form of the coupling member shown inFiguresl through 6 includes a mounting base 24, a web 25 extending in aplane substantially perpendicular to the panel 18, and a hook portion26, the hook portion being adapted to firmly grasp the front leg 11.

In. order to fold the tablet arm of the mechanism shown in Figures 1through 6, it is first necessary to slightly displace the primary chairstructure from fully erected position as indicated in Figure 3. This caneasily be done by grasping the upper part of the back of the chair withone hand, and with the other hand holding the outer end of thework-supporting panel. An upward movement on both hands will suffice toposition the chair as indicated in Figure 3. This slight displacementfrom fully erected position serves to disengage the hook portion 26 fromthe front leg, and the supporting member is therefore free to rotateover to a position substantially parallel to the seat 12. Due to thepresence of the web 25, it is preferable that the tablet arm 18 berotated in a clockwise direction (as seen from the front) with respectto the supporing member 20 during the folding movement. This actionresults in positioning the tablet arm bottom-up on the seat, as shown inFigure 5. With the tablet arm and support folded as shown in Figure 5,the remainder of the chair structure can be moved to the fully foldedposition shown in Figure 6.

Due to the dimensions of the web 25, the coupling member 23 has atendency to project considerably beyond the folded chair structure,unless some perhaps undesirable alterations in the proportions of thechair are made. It is possible, for instance, to form the hook member 26farther upward (as shown in Figure l) with respect to the panel 18. Thiswill result in reducing the amount of projection of the coupling memberbeyond the chair structure as shown in the view in Figure 6. To do so,however, would mean revising the back panel or the position of thework-supporting panel in a fashion which in particular installationsmight prove to be undesirable. To avoid this necessity, it is possibleto form a coupling member as shown in Figures 7 through 9. In Figure 7,a chair of identical construction as that illustrated in Figure l isshown provided with a similar panel 18 and supporting member 20. Themodified coupling member 27 is provided with a base portion 28, adownwardlyextending web 29, and a hook portion 30 attached thereto. TheWeb 29 of the modified coupling member is formed so as to besubstantially parallel to the rear of the seat 12,

and it will be noted in Figure 7 that the position of the web 29 is suchthat rotation of the supporting member 20 down into folded positionbrings the web 29 down behind the rear of the seat 12.

In models wherein it is desirable that the occupant of the chair be ableto disengage the tablet arm and remove it from a position interferingwith his egress from the chair, it is preferable that the base portion28 of the coupling member be provided with the elongated slots 31 and32. These slots are engaged by the heads of the screws 33 and 34,respectively, and the screws are left loose enough to provide a slidingmovement of the coupling member to and from a position where the hookportion 30 engages the front leg 11. With this arrangement, a relativelylarge tablet arm extending substantially across the front of the chaircan still be folded if the occupant of the chair will reach around anddisengage the coupling member from the front leg. Rotation of the tabletarm to a vertical plane will permit his egress from the chair Withoutnecessitating removing the chair from a row or disturbing his neighbor.The folding movement of the tablet arm and its supporting member (whenprovided with the modified form of the coupling) can take place whilemaintaining the tablet arm in a plane roughly parallel to that of theseat. The tablet arm then assumes a position top-up when superimposedupon the seat, and the web and hook portion 29 and 30 of the couplingwill occupy areas having a much reduced tendency to interfere with thestacking characteristics-of the entire folded chair-tablet arm unit.This folded position is shown in Figure 9.

The particular embodiments of the present invention which have beendiscussed herein, are for illustrative purposes only and are not to beconsidered as a limitation upon the scope of the appending claims. Inthese claims,

4 it is my intent to claim the entire invention disclosed herein exceptas I am limited by the prior art.

I claim:

1. A folding tablet arm for a folding chair, said folding chair having aseat and leg means pivotally connected to said seat, comprising: a panelproviding a working surface for an occupant of said chair; asubstantially planar panel-supporting member pivotally attached to saidpanel and to the side of said seat respectively on axis substantiallyparallel to said side; coupling means slidably mounted on said panel andadapted to move to and from a position engaging said leg means onerection of said folding chair to lock said member and panel againstrotation about said axes with respect to said seat.

2. A folding tablet arm for a folding chair, said folding chair having aseat and leg means pivotally connected to said seat, comprising: a panelproviding a working surface for an occupant of said chair; apanel-supporting member pivotally attached to said panel and to the sideof said seat respectively on axes substantially parallel to said side;coupling means slidably mounted on said panel and adapted to move to andfrom a position engaging a portion of said chair on erection thereof tolock said member and panel against rotation about said axes with respectto said seat.

3. A folding tablet arm for a folding chair, said folding chair having aseat and leg means pivotally connected to said seat, comprising: a panelproviding a working surface for an occupant of said chair; asubstantially planar panel-supporting member pivotally attached to saidpanel and to the side of said seat respectively on axes substantiallyparallel to said side; coupling means mounted on said panel and adaptedto engage said leg means on erection of said folding chair to lock saidmember and panel against rotation about said axes with respect to saidseat.

4. A folding tablet arm for a folding chair, said folding chair having aseat and leg means connected to said seat, comprising: a panel providinga working surface for an occupant of said chair; a panel-supportingmember pivotally attached to said panel and to the side of said seatrespectively on axes substantially parallel to said side; coupling meansmounted on said panel and adapted to engage said leg means on erectionof said folding chair to lock said member and panel against rotationabout said axes with respect to said seat.

5. A folding tablet arm for a folding chair, said folding chair having aseat and leg means connected to said seat, comprising: a panel providinga working surface for an occupant of said chair; panel-supporting memberpivotally attached to said panel and to the side of said seatrespectively on axes substantially parallel to said side; coupling meansmounted on said panel and adapted to engage a portion of said chair onerection thereof to lock said member and panel against rotation aboutsaid axes with respect to said seat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS791,531 Althotf June 6, 1905 1,143,678 Winans June 22, 1915 1,661,937Fischer et al. Mar. 6, 1928 1,864,750 Moore June 28, 1932 2,048,014Lochman et al. July 21, 1936 2,452,182 Clawson Oct. 26, 1948

